Harbinger interviewed one candidate for a client-facing lead, and hired them.

The situation

Harbinger builds software and eLearning products, much of it delivered directly to enterprise clients in banking and financial services. The engineers on those accounts do not just write code, they sit across the table from the client. That makes the hiring panel expensive: every interview slot is a senior engineer stepping off delivery, and the people they are hiring for are hard to replace if the role stays open.

The problem

The flagship role was a client-facing Tech Lead: strong hands-on .NET, excellent communication, and available to join within a week. Each of those alone is common. Together they are a narrow intersection, and the usual way of finding that person floods the panel with near-misses. Every wrong interview costs a senior engineer a morning, and the client-facing seat sits empty while the search drags.

Every wrong interview costs a senior engineer a morning, and the seat still sits empty.

What the function did

1. 01

   Defined the real bar before sourcing

   Not the JD keywords. The role was translated into what actually had to be true: can this person hold a client conversation, ship at Harbinger scale, and start inside a week. That definition was agreed before a single profile was pulled.

2. 02

   Kept the shortlist small and true

   Rather than a long list to hedge, the function sent a short one where every name had already cleared the real bar. The panel was never asked to sift, only to choose.

3. 03

   Screened for the whole intersection

   Communication, hands-on depth, and joining readiness were each checked before anyone reached the panel, so the interview confirmed a fit rather than discovering a gap.

The results

The one-interview hire was not luck. On a separate AI and ML Centre of Excellence role, the client interviewed three candidates and hired two. That is what an aligned engagement looks like.